The University of Minnesota is being sued by Young America's Foundation, a conservative youth advocacy group, over policies the group says violate students' First Amendment rights to free speech on gender identity and transgender issues.
The lawsuit, filed June 18 in the District of Minnesota by the Southeastern Legal Foundation on behalf of YAF, targets university-wide student life policies that define certain speech as "hostile environment sexual harassment," require students to use classmates' preferred pronouns, and enforce those rules through the Student Code of Conduct.
The group is asking a judge to declare the policies unconstitutional and issue an injunction blocking their enforcement, along with a symbolic $1 in nominal damages. "No student should live in fear that their future will be destroyed for merely expressing their opinion or refusing to use incorrect pronouns," the Southeastern Legal Foundation said.
The university has not addressed the specific allegations. "Because this involves active litigation, we cannot comment on the specific allegations of the lawsuit at this time," the university said. The case is currently awaiting briefing.